UX Marks the Spot: Lexus to Show New Crossover Concept in Paris

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Lexus will formally unveil a brand-new crossover concept at the 2016 Paris auto show. Dubbed the UX, the small hatchback will preview what’s likely to become a forthcoming production model. Earlier this year Lexus filed to trademark UX200, UX250, and UX250h with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. With little information to go on, we can only surmise that the UX is Lexus’s take on the Toyota C-HR, a subcompact crossover designed to compete against the Nissan Juke, the Mazda CX-3, and the Jeep Renegade; however, what actually serves as the UX’s foundation is anybody’s guess.

Armed with only one rear-three-quarter image of the concept, we can conclude that the little Lexus keeps moving the brand’s love-it-or-hate-it design language forward. Big wheels and flared fenders provide an attractive stance that we unfortunately don’t foresee translating fully to a production model. Nevertheless, we have high hopes that the UX’s interesting taillights, which stretch across the width of the vehicle and rise into the rear fenders, might make it to the showroom floor.

While we’re not sure what will power the UX concept, we’ll dare to assume an internal-combustion engine will have some role, given that there are the tailpipes in the rear bumper. Lexus’s trademarks suggest that the production UX will offer three powertrains: a 2.0-liter four-cylinder, a 2.5-liter four-cylinder, and a hybrid electric powertrain. Unless, of course, Toyota’s luxury brand adapts the recent nomenclature practices of its German competitors, under which the numbers are no longer reliable indicators of engine displacement.